Forgotten
by ThePurpleRose
Summary: Righteous? Is that what this is? Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Capturing Higuchi just got a lot harder when a fourth Kira surfaces targetting domestic criminals. L's resources are spred thin and it's only going to get worse. R & R!


**AN: I know I probably shouldn't be writing any more fanfics 'cause I've got so many unfinished ones now but**** this idea just jumped right into my brain. This chapter is a little bit serious, but the information is all gonna be needed in the future. There will also be more humour in the later chapters. I tried to work a bit of humour into this chapter but it's not that great compared to the later chapters.**

**This is set when the handcuffs are on and they're trying to catch Higuchi but Aizawa will be rejoining the task force later on.**

**So, here goes…**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. (Sighs) Now my dust bunnies are safe, 'cause they're the only thing you could hope to get by suing me!**_

* * *

The boy in the doorway was frozen. He couldn't look yet he couldn't bring himself to look away. He wanted to run – run away as fast as he could. Escape. But he couldn't tear himself away. It didn't matter to him that he would be next if he didn't grow some sense and move. It didn't matter that she was screaming at him to get away. He couldn't go. He couldn't just leave her.

The boy, still motionless in the open doorway, began to cry. His silent tears washed his grazed cheeks and it stung but the boy didn't care. He watched with blurry vision as his mother shouted at him to run or hide – to do anything but, please God, let him move, let him be safe.

The boy sobbed harder, still not making a sound or a move.

He loved them. He loved them both.

It didn't matter is his father was beating his mother at the top of the stairs because they were his parents. And he knew it was wrong. He knew he should be running. He should be getting help, calling the police. He should hate his father.

And he wanted to. Nobody knew how much that little boy wanted to hate his father for what he'd done to him and his mother. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He loved his father even though he got drunk and nasty and hit him.

After all, everybody had their faults, right? That was what his teacher said, and she was the cleverest grown-up he knew. She'd told him not to hate people for their faults because nobody was perfect. His father was just less perfect than other people. And it wasn't as if he was really mean. He was always really sorry afterwards and he even bought the boy presents to say sorry.

But the boy didn't understand why he had to lie to the nice people at the hospital about how he'd got hurt. He didn't understand why his mother's eyes were all sad all the time. He could never comprehend why nobody else had bruises and cuts they had to hide if everyone had faults?

Above all, he never understood why his father had with those faults. He never understood why Daddy couldn't learn from his mistakes like his teacher said people did.

He had never known anything different.

"Please God, Please!"

"I am your God! Got it, you stupid, bleedin' useless woman?"

The boy remained silently watching as his father picked up the vase of flowers on the table by the railing and lifted it above his mother.

"No! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please!"

"It ain't good enough, is it? Perhaps you'll learn the hard way!"

He swung it at her.

The boy shrieked. "Mummy!"

His father convulsed, vase in hand, taking a stumbling step forwards as he collapsed, knocking his long-suffering wife down the stairs with him. The boy rushed forwards enough to see them tumble down both flights of steps, to hear the sound of human flesh bouncing on each step and the dry snap of breaking bones – a sound that was sadly too familiar to him already.

He winced.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

* * *

Thud!

Light rubbed his pounding head and turned to where Matsuda was picking himself up off the floor after having slipped over in the water he had just spilt.

Out of common courtesy, Light asked, "Matsuda, are you okay?"

"Yes," the red faced man replied to Light before turning to L. "I'm sorry. I'll clean it up right away then I'll get that file you wanted. Or should I get the file first?"

"Why does Matsuda-san feel the need to apologise?" L enquired, removing his thumb from his mouth but keeping his wide eyes firmly fixed on the screen in front of him.

"Because I spilt water on your floor and I didn't fetch that file you wanted quickly enough," Matsuda answered.

"It is fine, Matsuda-san; it is only water and there is no carpet. Also, while it is nice to have my files delivered to me promptly, I understand that you have other things to do," L sighed.

Matsuda protested, "But I slipped in the water and I look like a fool!"

L shook his head. "Stupid Matsuda…"

Matsuda took this as he cue to get a cloth to wipe up the water, and maybe earn L's gratitude by getting the file while he was at it. He would impress L. he was determined.

The phone rang as he passed it and Matsuda, momentarily distracted from his goal to impress and possibly befriend L, picked it up automatically.

"Liiiiiiiiiight-kuuuun!" a high pitched squeal shot through the receiver.

Matsuda scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Er, actually, it's Matsuda."

"Hi Matsu!" Misa said, full of enthusiasm as usual.

"Hi Misa-Misa!" Matsuda greeted, grinning. "What's up?"

"Misa-Misa just got a call from It Magazine! They want Misa-Misa to be the cover model and have a special feature interview about Misa-Misa's movie!" she relayed.

Matsuda almost clapped his hands with joy but caught himself just before he dropped the phone. "Really? Wow! When?"

"Today!" she squealed. "Two O'clock!"

"Wow! I'll tell everyone!"

"Tell Light I love him!" she requested, hanging up.

"Everyone!" Matsuda called, probably loudly enough for the cremated German pensioner who was deaf while she still lived and currently resided in an urn in her garden in Germany to hear him. "Misa-Misa has a photo-shoot for It Magazine at two!"

Now what was he supposed to be doing… Oh yes, getting that folder for L. He whistled, bounding away like a golden retriever.

Soichiro Yagami stepped out of the lift, placing a folder on Matsuda's desk.

"Why is there a puddle here?"

* * *

Matsuda was humming a cheery tune as he gazed at the screen of his laptop, completely unaware that those around him were feeling much less than cheerful, what with the third Kira about. L was chewing on his fork; too deep in thought to realise he had eaten the cake that had been on the fork a quite some time ago. Light was staring at his computer screen sparing enough time to glance down at the chain that bound him to L in disgust as he worked. Mogi was silently sorting through files and Soichiro was reading yet another file.

Soichiro looked up from his file. "Matsuda, didn't you say you had to take Misa to a photo shoot today?

Matsuda smiled, "Nope, Misa-Misa's shoot was cancelled because the magazine manager died of a heart attack. She's going tomorrow instead."

"A heart attack?" Light questioned.

"Now, Light," Soichiro cautioned. "Just because Kira kills with heart attacks doesn't mean that every heart attack victim is also a victim of Kira."

"Yeah, you're right, chief," Matsuda agreed. "But I wondered if Kira was targeting bad people as well as criminals or if the magazine manager was connected to yotsuba's rivals in any way, so I researched it!"

"What did you find?" Light prompted.

Matsuda's face fell. "He's not connected in any way to any companies rivalling Yotsuba. It looks like he was just the manager of a teenage magazine. He has no criminal record as far as I can see, though he was apparently a tough boss to work for. He had a wife and son… Oh! I think I found something!"

"What?" Light prompted again, his prompts gradually getting shorter and shorter.

Matsuda's face lit up again. "Apparently, he was an abusive husband and father," he announced. "There was no solid evidence because the wife refused to admit it or press charges, but she has been admitted to hospital three times this year with marks that were definitely made by fingers and a gash that was almost surely made by a ring – the wedding ring he wore most likely."

"So the third Kira could be killing those participating in domestic violence," Light concluded.

Matsuda added, "Wait, there's more. The son was admitted to hospital in July with a broken leg and a broken arm. The father said he had fallen down the stairs at the hotel they were staying in but he also had old bruises indicating abuse."

L spoke for the first time in hours, still not bothering to turn away from his computer screen. At least he had put the fork back on the plate.

"Check all heart attack deaths that do not belong to known criminals and see if there is a pattern of deaths relating to abuse. I must know if this is a coincidence, the third Kira had been doing it all along or we a have a fourth Kira operating at the same time as the third like the first and second Kiras."

'_If Light-kun and Amane-san were the first and second Kiras and they really did lose their memories of it due to passing the power on then it is reasonable to assume that two people can have the Kira power at one time, which would make the possibility of a fourth Kira __more probable,' _L thought, bringing his thumb up to his mouth in place of the fork.

"Ryuzaki?"

L turned to face the owner of the voice that had brought him out of his theories. Soichiro cleared his throat.

"At a glance, there has been a big increase in heart attacks for domestic violence, mostly crimes that went unpunished due to lack of evidence or complaint from the victims," Soichiro relayed. "However, there have been few heart attacks for those convicted of offences relating to domestic violence."

"So we are dealing with a person who is clever enough avoid killing known criminals of that nature in order to escape notice of the police," L mused. "When did these killings start?"

"Ten days ago," was the reply from Light, who was browsing the file of heart attack deaths with renewed vigour, having forgotten about the injustice of the chain binding him to L.

"I see… The fourth Kira is someone living in an abusive family. He or she either had a childhood full of abuse or is living with an abusive partner, though the former seems more likely," L announced.

"But, Ryuzaki," Matsuda interrupted, "How can you be sure it's a fourth Kira?"

"Because these killings only started ten days ago even though the third Kira has been killing for longer. That, and the fact that these killings suggest that a Kira has experience of abuse. I have already checked the backgrounds of all of the Yotsuba employees and I have discovered that, surprisingly, not one has the sort of past or present we require," L explained.

Light highly doubted L was capable of surprise; he certainly hadn't sounded shocked in any way. He hadn't even sounded interested. But Light supplied information all the same.

"That's because Yotsuba is a company that does thorough checks into the backgrounds of its employees. They had an incident a few years back when an employee went insane and attacked two other employees, leaving one with permanent damage to the right eye and the other with scars stretching down the left side of his body. They now won't take anyone with a background that could lead to a repeat of that incident."

"Oh, yeah! I remember that now!" Matsuda exclaimed, still on a high from being the first to notice what was, undoubtedly, a lead.

"I see…" L said quietly, nibbling on his thumbnail for a moment. "But people who appear normal and have a normal upbringing can still become insane while many of those who do have an unpleasant background do not have any mental abnormalities…"

Matsuda shrugged. "It's only there to reassure the workers…"

_It's still not just,_ L thought biting back a response purely because Matsuda seemed genuinely uncomfortable about it if his facial expression was anything to go by.

"Another Kira…" Soichiro mused, "Ryuzaki, do you think that this fourth Kira is to third Kira what the second Kira was to the first?"

"It does not seem as though the third and fourth Kiras are working together; their methods are completely different. The third Kira seems to be passing judgment as if it is a chore whilst using the killing power for his personal gain, whereas the fourth Kira does not presume to pass judgement in the same way. The fourth Kira is more cautious and probably cleverer to avoid detection for so long," L stated. "But we cannot assume that the fourth Kira can or cannot see names like the second Kira."

* * *

"Half your remaining lifespan for the eyes of shinigami – what'd'ya say?"

"Hmm…" Long fingers were brought up to cracked lips the offer was considered. "These eyes will give me the names and lifespans of everyone I see if I can see their faces, yes?"

"Yeah," the shinigami replied, a slow grin erupting from the wide cavern that was its mouth.

The human clutching the notebook with the left hand smiled too. "And another notebook holder will not have the lifespan visible so I will be able to pick that out, yes?"

"Yeah. Useful, don't'cha think?"

"Yes, I do," the human revealed casually, without hesitation.

"So you'll trade?"

"That depends," the human began, pausing to swallow a cherry, complete with the pips, "On how long my task will take and how long I've got left to live."

"But will ya play the game?"

The human spared a harsh laugh, an amused smile toying with the corner of the human's lips. "Yes. I'll play. I am playing to win and I will not let anyone get in the way."

* * *

**AN: Okay! That's it for this chapter. Sorry, I know it's pretty awful but it gets better as you get into it.**

**Anyway, reviews make my day and the more I get, the more it inspires me to update quickly. Also, I need feedback. Any feedback and all reviews are appreciated – even if all you say is 'hi'.**

**Thanks for reading and special thanks to ****Sadie193****, my fantastic beta reader for helping me on this and putting up with all my plot bunnies and rambling.**

**~ThePurpleRose**


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